Obama's Grudge Factor

These are chilly days on Capitol Hill ... and on the campaign trail for Fox News journalists -- at least when they're anywhere near Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Will Fox have to watch Obama on C-Span like the rest of us? (Reuters photo)

Sources tell The Sleuth that the Obama camp has "frozen out" Fox News reporters and producers in the wake of the network's major screw-up in running with the erroneous Obama-the-jihadist story reported by Insight magazine.

"I'm still in the freezer," one Fox journalist said, noting that the people at Fox "suffering the most did nothing wrong." (It was "Fox and Friends" host Steve Doocy who aired the Insight magazine piece, which reported that operatives connected to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) found out that Obama, as a child, was educated at a Muslim madrassah in Indonesia.)

Another Fox journalist called the network's airing of the story "unfortunate" for the network's journalists who have to cover Obama and who are being adversely affected despite not being involved in the incident.

Since the madrassah incident, Obama has given interviews to ABC, CNN, CBS and NBC -- pretty much every other network except Fox. Sources close to Obama acknowledged that they're not thrilled to play ball with Fox journalists, but they stopped short of saying they are freezing the network out.

One source familiar with the dynamic between Fox and Obama, who asked not to be named, said Obama and his staff are in for a rude awakening if they think they can write off Fox News. If a candidate is serious about running for president, he or she is going to need a network like Fox to reach out to all those voters in the red and purple states, the source said.

The same source pointed out that Fox News political correspondent Carl Cameron interviewed Obama on Monday during the senator's trip to attend a field hearing on Hurricane Katrina.

No one is suggesting the icy conditions are permanent. In fact, a thawing of sorts may already have begun thanks to two telephone conversations Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes had with Obama.

Aides to Obama said they weren't sure what exactly was said during the conversations. A Fox News spokesperson, who, though an official voice for the company asked not to be quoted by name, could neither confirm nor deny that conversations took place between Ailes and Obama. But of the "alleged freezing out" of Fox journalists by Obama's office, she said, "If true, perhaps Mr. [Robert] Gibbs should reconsider that ill-advised strategy given his candidate is trailing by 20 points in the polls."

Asked whether Ailes apologized to Obama, an Obama campaign aide said the senator "has not received any written apology."

So maybe there was no written apology, but at least John Moody, vice president for news at Fox, issued this missive to staff in his daily editorial note on Jan. 23: "For the record: seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC. The urgent queue is our way of communicating information that is air-worthy. Please adhere to this."

Feuds between candidates and various segments of the media are usually less serious than they appear, and both sides ned each other. Of course the Fox News Network will still be there after the election, and the Obama campaign might not so Fox does have a certain advantage even though they do have their good name to consider, and if they are bottom-fishing based on the political preferences of their upper management they might want to remember their pretenses about professional newsgathering and analysis, which they can do if they choose to. And Obama does have good reason to resent the way some of the people at Fox tried to portray him as a terrorist. As you say, there are plenty of honest journalists at Fox too, who just needed the job and try their best to be professional, and I hope Obama doesn't take it out on them.

"Try their best to be professional?" "Being professional" would have been to NOT report the story. Or, at the very least, have sent someone to Indonesia to try and figure if, in fact, the school was a madrassah when he was a child. They [being Fox] did nothing of the sort, and that is just irresponsible.

It would be nice to have Fox News cover Obama's potential campaign, but he certainly doesn't need them. They need him.

Most folks know Fox is not considered a "News" orginization by anyone in the business, although they will not say so publicly for various reasons. I really don't know how to classify what they broadcast other than, IMO, gossip, made up stories, and smears. I watch it a lot just to see what they have come up with and how far they will go with it after it has been pretty well exposed as false or a smear job.

that's too funny, that Obama or any liberal candidate needs fox snooze to reach red-state voters. red-state voters are brain-dead republikkan zombies, and Obama should merely be the first Dem to refuse to deal with that bushco propoganda arm. any reporter who takes a job there should be shunned and ignored. any reporter.

"Screw-ups" like this seem to happen at fox more than the other channels. Putting a D by Mark Foley's name, attributing the opinions of one or two dems to the entire party. What really floored me was when I saw one of their political analysts say that dems wanted to raise taxes on old people's social security checks. The list goes on.

I've gotten to the point where I'm suspicious of nonpolitical news that they report.

For the life of me, I can't understand why ANY non-conservative-wacko candidate would give the time of day to that lying, biased Fox network. The best thing the Democratic Party could do would be for all of them to boycott that network entirely.

Freeze them out Barack! Nobody who watches Faux News are ever going to vote for a Democrat. If every
Democratic politician or strategist would ignore the Faux News Channel then all that would be less is a circular firing squad with the O'Reilly's and the Hannitty's devouring one another.

Christopher Morrison is mistaken. Fox does not have its good name to consider. By giving shows to Bill O'Reilly, John Gibson, Neal Cavuto and the morning moron crew, Fox gave up any hope of having a good name years ago.

I can't imagine why any Democratic candidate would go on Fox. It's not like the interview would be favorable. Getting the message out in red states takes boots on the ground. The Obama story that Fox ran with was not an accidental screw up.

Its a shame that because it was a democrat that the story was about,he is portrade as a victim. If he wants to be president, he needs to be able to handle tough truths about his past. What is he trying to hide? And why doesn't he place the blame on himself for hiding information about his past, or place the blame on Hilary Clinton on leaking the information. And not Fox News who is fair and balanced.

The big and obvious white elephant to be addressed here, to medias regret, is.. did this story, as only reported by Fox, quoting a source, really happen? Is it true that Hillarys camp did this investigation, and is it true he was raised a Muslim? And if so, so what.. why would Hillary care to expose something like that, to "expose" Obama as a possible enemy not to be trusted? I really want to know if this came about from the work of Hillarys camp, if she knew about it, and in deed did leak this information out to the press, whom Fox only quoted. Theres always leaks of information, but this one in particular is very interesting considering our war on fanatical Muslim extreme radicals. Was Hillary trying to make the American public connect some dots here to Obama? Thats scary, and the press needs to ferret out where this story came from.. if Hillary trying to dig "dirt" on her opponent.. then to question her motives in digging in this sort of soil. What exactly was she trying to do or say here?

If anyone's a joke Obamahater, you stand first in line. Given that Fox has slanted the news to favor Bush and the Republicans for the past several year's, how can you not suspect this more an smear issue than any other. You have a right to opinion although I think if you could get past that he's a Democrat, he's of mixed race, and that he's a Muslim, you might see some real positive's in his make up. However, I do doubt that could happen since it would require you to have an open mind and with your signature, doesn't sound possible.

I don't think Obama is ready but do believe him to have the qualities need for the job of President. One thing very much for certain to me however, he has a hell of lot more creditably than Fox News or posters signing off their post's with "hate" as a part of their signature.

I strongly encourage Sen. Obama to "freeze out" FOX News. They are propagandists--not a news gathering organization. While they hide behind the mantle of 'the press' their so-called news is biased, one-sided, and in many instances, factually wrong. As for the FOX News reporters, they haven't any integrity. I find the lot of them disgusting trash. Just recently my wife said FOX News is for white trash. I agree.

I feel nothing for the Faux news people on the campaign trail. When you go to work there, you know what you're going to work for and what is expected. They shouldn't act like they are true journalists and offended somehow.

Who cares. Has anyone noticed that we are a LOOOOOOONG way out from the election. No one will remember the flap over madrassah-gate in a week. All the networks slant in one direction or another, it's entertainment.

obama has a unique insight into the mindset of the jihadist mentality as having been taught in their schools. He just shrugs it off as if it didn't leave a permenant scar on his psychy. He has been very disengenuous regarding his past,and cannot be trusted.FOX is to be commended for it's non-biased examination of the facts as opposed to the liberal media's constant attempts to promote perveyors of their socialist agenda. FOX is number 1 because they treat the viewer as intelligent beings and not forcing onesided diatribe down their throats. When Obama been-lyin decides to come clean FOX will probably give him a second chance. Until then only the braindead morons that watch those lib networks will have to listen to him again,and again, and again

It's pretty clear, even if you only base the perception on Fox's own polls, that Fox News viewers (indeed, all of the right-wing programming's consumers) have been marginalized by current events. The "faith-based" thirty percent of the public who still believe that they get "fair and balanced" news on Fox won't ever be persuaded that a Democrat isn't the devil incarnate anyway.

In all of morning television a viewer would have to search far and wide to find a worse show than "Fox & Friends" and two bigger fools than Kilmeade and Doocy. If Fox News is serious about its credibility, then the network should have Doocy apologize and repudiate the story. Otherwise, Fox News will continue to have only 5% of the total cable/network audience that it presently has.

FOX is not even conservative. That would require some degree of intellectual honesty. They simply shill for anything the GOP does even when the GOP is pursuing policies that are against conservative principles like busting the budget. If the GOP does it, it is good. This is how FOX frames every issue.

If Bahama has any sense he'll never talk to Fox.
Why all other Democrats don't react similarly with Fox freezes of their own is mystifying, since that net's slant toward Republican urgencies is so blatant, perpetual and such a hostage to the McCarthy tradition.
Let Hume's lip curl go unsatisfied.

Hmm. Seems from the comments that the "Source who asked not to be named" does not know what the hell he or she is talking about. As pointed out in the posts above, the democratic primary is not going to be won on the Fox News Channel. Who ever wins the Democratic primary is going to get Skewerd on Fox no matter who they are. Lets face it Fox is propoganda plain and simple. If it wasn't Steve Doocy would have been fired. That is what happens to Journalists who air stories that turn out to be untrue. Just ask Dan Rather.

Bad, Naughty, Dirty Fox. Democrats will make world safe for truth. Everyone repeat together - "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN". "I will not question CNN".

Song: FOX on the Run Lyrics
I don't wanna know your name
Cause you don't look the same
The way you did before
OK you think you got a pretty face
But the rest of you is out of place
You looked all right before

FOX on the run
You screamed and everybody comes a-running
Take a run and hide yourself away
FOX on the run
F-foxy, foxy on the run and hideaway

You-you talk about just every band
But the names you drop are second hand
I've heard it all before
I don't wanna know your name
Cause you don't look the same
The way you did before
(repeat chorus)

I think Obama is right for not talking to Fox News. Some people there still contend that Hillary leaked this story. The Fox News Channel can never take responsibility for their actions. It's always some one elses fault. No serious Democratic candidate should go on Fox. Anyone who votes or prefers the left does not watch that channel.

Obama doesn't need Fox News, and now he has the perfect excuse to tell them to go Cheney themselves when they call. Maybe it will even become a trend.
Whenever Fox News whines that he won't give them an interview, he can reply by once again telling the story of how they printed outrageous lies about him without making any effort to check the facts.

Faux/Fox news wouldn't protest this much if it didn't need Obama -- I just wish other politicians whom it routinely smears would grow a backbone and do the same. The news media seems to predominately slant RIGHT, not left (esp. ABC) -- they're just not so much "in your face" obvious. Why, oh!why!, don't the progressives have their own political TV channel like Faux/Fox? Let's get a grass roots movement going -- let us all contribute according to our means. Like it or not, Air America radio IS succeeding -- we can succeed with the television medium as well!

Fox is #1 in cable news only because it's got the entire conservative market, while the moderate and liberal viewers are spread among all the other news networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN & MSNBC). These five combined will dwarf FOX on any given day.

Why is the liberalcommie media hiding the fact that Obama and Hillary were the pilots of each of the planes that hit the World Trade Center? God bless FOX, I have personally witnessed Ailes walk on water.

I do not watch anything that Fox creates, they are blocked on my TVs, they have no credability, they are a propaganda network, absolutly worthless for real Americans who hunger for the truth. They are going to make up what Obamma says anyway so why not cut them off.

Fox News is part of a brilliant propaganda machine. It won't go away until people stop watching it and stop buying all the products they advertise. If you doubt its influence consider the damage they have already done. --Bring back the 'equal time provision' on our public airwaves (we own them remember) and let the 27% of the population that watch FN (the same group that thinks Bush and the rest of the Republicans are doing such a great job) actually be exposed to some opposing, and sometimes better, ideas. www.crooksandliars.com

I wish the Washington Post would go back to being a NEWSpaper, instead of being a stenographic aid to no-name sources and smear merchants. Could you guys do a little fact-checking? Could you report on something that matters, please??? Geesh. No wonder the country is going to hell in a handbasket.

Fox news is a national disgrace. Their irresponsible, fantasy based, hypocritcal view of the world directly influences the 3 million or so people who watch them every day. For instance just yesterday Fox flogged Maria Bartiromo about being influenced by citigroup while for the last 6 years, Carl Cameron, the Fox white house correspondent, has a wife who works for the Bush administration. They flog other networks for being "biased" while they report overtly biased news every day. It is unbelieveable what they get away with. They really should be held to account for their "sins" by the new democratic congress. The evidence should be brought out in a McCarthyesque fashion in front of the nation. Maybe that would cool their jets a bit. Their motto should not be "fair and balanced" but "we're biased and smug about it"

freeze them out. They are the propaganda wing of the right wing radicals that have done so much damage. You know they aren't going to be fair anyway, while help them? Or maybe you could agree to appear with the frequency Cheney visits the NY Times, you know, something courageous like that.

Faux Noise Channel is nothing more than a televised version of the National Enquirer - and appeals to the same mentality. The fact that they're allowed to masquerade as a "news" channel on our public air waves is a testament to our country's dual personality: freedom of speech versus the gullibility of the American public.
Fortunately, their ratings are dropping. Americans may be slow to catch on when they're being lied to, but they *do* learn.

Thay guy Doocey looks like a sly fox and quoting something you got on a website without any clarification is inresponsible.
Without FOX issueing an open apology to the public and to Mr. Obama in person gives him to right to can them from his campaign.
How unfortunate that the same group of guys at Fox who call Anderson Cooper of CNN the Paris Hilton of TV did this. Expect more from them.
Anyway they lost the last election and if they continue in this light, then wow to the republicans.

Anybody who works in TV knows that Fox is PURE PROPAGANDA twenty four hours a day. All candidates should refuse Fox access. We should boycott all Fox sponsors! No other network should hire anyone who has worked for Fox.

The Fox network is drenched in the blood of all those who have died in Irag. Their on-air lioes decieved the American Public into supporting an illegal and immoral war. Fox news is criminally responsible for the war as much as Bush/cheney themselves.

he's waiting for that written apology from ailes, gibson and doocy. then he's gonna wave that thing around at every fundraiser and rally he can cram into his schedule for the next year. probably win the nomination just by humiliating Fox.

well winston,
perhaps I misinterpreted your comment. I understood it as insinuating a left-leaning bias parallel to FNC's right.
I don't believe that anyone...Democratic or Republican voters alike...watches CNN in hopes of being informed.

I noticed that several comments have sign-offs like, "Obama been Lying" and "Obama Hatter" and I have to look at them as already "Brain Dead Fox Viewers". You belong to Fox and please, please keep watching and commenting. I believe that racists, bigots and just plan dumb people still exist in 2007 and you are my proof. You are a great tool in teaching my friends who think we have made progress as a nation that we have to keep our eyes and ears open. If Senator Obama runs for president, the rest of your racists, bigoted kind will crawl from under what ever rocks you've been under and subject the rest of us to your presence.
Surprise me, come into the real world, get educated and make a decision based on something other than the ignorant propaganda that Fox feeds you.

FOX is not even conservative. That would require some degree of intellectual honesty. They simply shill for anything the GOP does.

The current GOP party leaders, the neocon wing, are clearly not conservative, they (like fox news itself), are fascist. They will not be happy until they have ended our constitutional government and have created a fascist theocracy. These people need to be called out for who they are and what they stand for. The simalarities between the neocon wing of the GOP and the Nazi party of 1930's is startling, and if we want to remain a constitutional democracy we need to bring back the fairness doctrine, if we sell this as a way to reign in that "horrible" liberal media. How can the neocon fascist argue with that? It puts their "chickenhawk asses in a hole they dug for themselfs.

I just can't believe that this wonderful country has to have anything as disreputable as Fox news. I just can't believe it.
Those reporters working for Fox who 'just needed a job' should kill themselves.

I wish Obama would freeze out the Fox Noise Channel for the rest of his campaign. The Dems have the power now - no need to give any of it to right-wing propaganda organizations like the one operated by hard-core Republicans. Starve the beast!

The FOX comedy channel has never gone out of thier way to be either fair or balanced so I'm not sure why they would throw a temper tantrum when they've been "frozen out" for another case of inaccurate reporting. In fact, I wish most reasonable politicians would just stop giving interviews or appearing on the FOX comedy channel altogether. Then the network would be exposed for what it really is: a propaganda tool of the far right and nothing more.

Right on Obama! The people who listen to FOX aren't going to vote for you anyway.

All Democrats should put the FOX noise channel into Coventry and refuse to have anything to do with it. They should refuse to appear on their programs and refuse to answer their reporters' questions. FOX is not a legitimate news channel, but, rather the propaganda wing of the Bush Administration and therefore should not be treated as if it were a legitimate news organization.

God people, get a grip. This story was run by a right-wing online news magazine, Insite, not a legitimate news agency. It was originally sent to the Drudge Report, who declined to post it. The magazine then went to the next best thing, Fox News, who leapt on the story. The story is NOT true, and there's absolutely no proof of Hilary having anything to do with it. Think about it, if she was going to leak it, why would she choose to leak it to one media outlet, a right-wing blog??? Duh! Finally, even if this story was true (which it isn't), he reportedly only attended the school for ONE year, when he was just 6-years old. I know my life has been greatly shaped, and my ideologies largely honed, by the finger-painting I did in school at that age.

There's an old saying in journalism that if your mom says she loves you, then you'd better check it out. Not doing the research to vet the truth of the initial story was the network's biggest problem. If they even wanted to vet it.

I've read many inaccurate comments from the posters here concerning Mr. Obama. While most of these inaccuracies are being perpetuated by Fox supporters, a few have been put forward by Fox detractors as well.

Really, people. Forget the mainstream media and its alleged biases for a moment. Exercise a minimum of initiative and Google yourself some facts.

It seems that the truth has become such a precious commodity that no one who has it will give it up without a fight.

Despite the name, Fox News doesn't really have many "news" shows. Most of their programming is "news analysis". In other words, editorial commentary. That little distinction gives them any cover they need when people accuse them of "making up the news".

"A close monitoring of the channel over several weeks indicates that the news segments tend to be straightforward, with little hint of political subtext except for stories the news editors feel the 'mainstream' press has either downplayed or ignored," wrote Columbia Journalism Review's Neil Hickey (3-4/98). The fact that Fox's "chat consistently tilts to the conservative side," wrote the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz (2/5/01), "may cast an unwarranted cloud on the news reporting, which tends to be straightforward."

Unfortunately, most Fox News viewers can't tell the difference between news and commentary, thus end up thinking that Bill O'Reilly is reporting the news, when really all he's reporing is his own opinion.

I have wondered for years why any Democrat has anything to do with Fox. They are so irrelevent that no Democrat would be adversely effected by freezing the network out. I say it's time for a party-wide freeze-out.

Yes Democrats, more of this please. No Democratic candidate is going to win election because they appeared enough on FOX or lose because they didn't. Democrats should invest their valuable time with media outlets where their message is more likely to be presented honestly and accurately.

While Fox does have a sizable viewership, no voter who relies on Fox for their information (and also believes this information) will ever vote for a Democratic candidate. I often wonder how Fox viewers are able to connect fork to mouth, let alone facts to reality. But that's just me.

It seems silly for any Democrat running for office to go on Fox, at any time, ever, except for sport/amusement - there are no votes waiting in the shadows amnong Fox's loyal viewers (there's a reason Limbaugh calls them "dittoheads"). As one commenter said, it's not a news network - it's hard to describe what Fox is, other than a bunch of angry, bigoted, hateful, lying white folks who care about nothing other than spreading their hatred and fear.

There are entire chapters of the bible dedicated to describing what happens to the likes of the people who work for Fox. They aren't the good parts of the bible, either.

I agree with RONJAZZ. I understand how this works (they need each other), but I've long been suprised that more on the left don't make themselves available for FOX interviews. I know it's important to get whatever message out there, whenever possible, BUT it would be interesting to see what would happen if there no immediate 'targets' to shoot at during target practice (i.e. Chris Wallace).

Obama should freeze them out why not? Fox has been on a campaign to discredit him for months. This was not the first attempt to form associations between Obama and terrorism in hte minds of thier views. Two weeks prior they were routinely misspelling his name Osama trying to use subliminal messaging connecting him to terrorism. The gaul that they would then claim that he is out of line and that it was just one or two individuals at Fox and that the "innocent" journalists should not be shut out is insulting.
This is their tactic. Just link the constant insinuation that Hilary is a lesbian that occurs almost daily on their broadcasts are designed to get homophobes from voting for her. Thier strategy is to vilify through the most devisive means all competition for the repuglicans so so sorry for that typo I meant to type republicans really I'm innocent and non partisan here. By the way Fox also routinely uses the term DemocRATS instead of the correct term Democrate. AS a news outlet they would be hard pressed if everyone refused to deal with them until they actually started living up to their moniker of a no spin zone. The arrogance to think they are so important that they can slander people and that we all have to put up with it.

Although it is hard to believe there are people that ignorant and impressionable, there are going to be thousands who will always believe that story. Look at the comments here, on other sites, on youtube. About 15% still believe Barak Obama was a muslim and/or went to a madrassa. Fox News did the damage it set out purposely to do.
I do not watch TV news period, because it is either proganda or plain lies. People, teach your children to follow their instincts and trust themselves and to question and learn always!

Why on earth would a Democratic candidate want air time on Fox News? Fox News is a propaganda network for the hate-spewing radical right. Their smear job on Obama last week was only a taste of things to come. Obama's campaign will buy air time on the other networks, and will gain name recognition that way. Obama does not need to sully himself with the vulgar trash at Fox.

Obama is wrong. If he actually finds real journalists at Fox, he SHOULD talk to them. Fox has not proven itself to be a news organization. How, then, can it employ journalists? Propaganda organizations employ PR people.

First, in order to understand Fox New's sloppy bias, we need to look into the source of the story -- Insight which is an internet only rag owned by the Unification Church (the moonies). They also own the Washington Times.

It irks me everytime the media quotes someone from the Washington Times because the Unification Church has invested well over two billion dollars in subsidies to keep this propoganda rag alive as can be seen if you look at them on Hoover's. They subsidize every paper they sell to the tune of $3.00.

CNN did an on site look at Obama's school and even showed a picture of Obama with his class. The teachers lined up in the back were wearing street clothes and the female teachers were not even wearing anything on their heads.

I am afraid that the reason this crap stuck to Obama is that it stimulates a conscious or unconscious bias that a significant portion of the public has against people of color -- they don't trust one to run the country.

We need to get over this real fast because I view Obama as the only candidate that can unify and inspire the country to go after its underlying problems of dependence on imported oil and runaway healthcare/retirement costs.

Obama does not need Fox. The people they reach will never vote for Obama. In fact, they would not vote for Obama if he were a Republican. There's no reason for him to trail after crumbs from the opposition table.

One of the most distressing tactics among Democrats is the seeking of support from the dead-enders of the right. Preach to the choir -- the choir isn't organized to give you full support. Then preach to the congregation and get their support before you run out to the bar and preach to the drunks.

Obama should do just the opposite. He and every other Democrat shoud be going on Fox as much as possible. Fox News hosts are lightweights. They're used to trashing Dems behind their backs and having sycophantic puff piece interviews with GOPers. When you get a Dem on there who is ready to fight it out, the Foxies fold like cheap pants suits. Just watch Barney Frank slug it out with them. He's too smart for them. He comes off looking brlliant and the Fox hosts end up looking like idiots. Even a lightweight like Barbara Boxer is sharp enough to get Fox hosts tongue-tied on the air.

Hannity, Gibson, O'reilly, Cavuto, even the weather forecaster are GOP operatives. I put that channel of propaganda in my blocked list long long time ago and forgot the password (actually I entered the password with closed eyes). I found the bias and blatant lies so offensive that I even changed my bank because they were tuned on FAUX all the time. They are like Pravda. Cheney's favorite and only channel.

*"I'm still in the freezer,"* one Fox journalist said, noting that the people at Fox "*suffering the most did nothing wrong.*"

Poor thing! First, Fox does not hire *journalists*. It hires propaganda-spouters. Even if the *journalists* at Fox got an interview with Obama, they would distort it. Fox *journalists* know perfectly well when they are hired that their job is to carry water for the right-wing and to smear everybody else.

This should be a lesson learned for Fox News and that lesson is the one of unintended consequences. The humble thing for Fox News would be a written apology and a dismissal of those responsible and the gracious thing for Obama would be to accept the apology but the ball is clearly in Fox New's court. Time will tell if they are up to the task.

When 60 Minutes put out a bad story on Bush's TANG duty CBS fired Dan Rather. Fox News is in the same boat here.

Fox is not an impartial news source, they barely pretend to be impartial.

Freezing out unfriendly media is a standard campaign tactic. Fox is going to continue to smear Obama as often as they can. There is very little for Obama to gain from appearing on Fox.

Hillary is a different issue, Fox journalists know that if they smear her they will face the wrath of Murdoch who is a chiseling weasel who is worried that he has bet too much on what may be a losing hand.

First, in order to understand Fox New's sloppy bias, we need to look into the source of the story -- Insight which is an internet only rag owned by the Unification Church (the moonies). They also own the Washington Times.

It irks me everytime the media quotes someone from the Washington Times because the Unification Church has invested well over two billion dollars in subsidies to keep this propaganda rag alive as can be seen if you look them up on Hoover's. They subsidize every paper they sell to the tune of $3.00.

CNN did an on site look at Obama's school and even showed a picture of Obama with his class. The teachers lined up in the back were wearing street clothes and the female teachers were not even wearing anything on their heads.

I am afraid that the reason this crap stuck to Obama is that it stimulates a conscious or unconscious bias that a significant portion of the public has against people of color -- they don't trust one to run the country.

We need to get over this real fast because I view Obama as the only candidate that can unify and inspire the country to go after its underlying problems of dependence on imported oil and runaway healthcare/retirement costs. Without a rapid change in direction, we will soon face an economic and military confrontation with China over oil and a financial meltdown over multi-trillion dollar deficits.

Currently a CNN is not much better than Fox. They have also baselessly smeared Oboma by compairing him to Saddam, Bin Ladin, and the Iranian leader. And this is what the wingnuts call the liberal media. Bring back the fairness doctrine NOW!!!

A new Congress convened just this month yet all the talk about politics is focused on the 2008 presidential race. When did our government cease to consist of 3 branches and reduce itself to one? It seems the media is setting up a major distraction to keep people from realizing the apathy that our government is going to display over the next two years. Democrats are in the pocket of big business just as much as the Republicans and the media knows it. Demand accountability from your politicians. Don't let them become complacent because we are 22 months from a presidential election!

It's about time. Fox "News" is clearly a branch of the republican party, run by Roger Ailes, a man who worked for Reagan & Bush Sr. The American public, the MSM and the Democratic party need to quit treating Fox "News" like they are actually a news outlet. The democratic members of congress should refuse to even appear on Fox "News" and should clearly state why. They are not a news outlet, they are a propaganda and misinformation tool, owned and operated by the republican party. You know, like the MSM.

Obama is already fighting an uphill battle because he is an African American and not to mention, he has an Islamic sounding name. So, it was only a matter of time until FOX news would run a story like that. Now, opponents to Obama can either say he is a terrorist or a cry baby all because FOX news, the propaganda machine that it is, did not check their facts and just wanted to show a sexy, controversial story that villifies a good man. Hopefully, he is a man of character and will never talk to FOX news until they give him a formal apology.

Since Fox News is just a mouthpiece and propaganda vehicle for the right wing of the Republican party, then why not freeze these faux journalists out? I believe the entire Democratic Party should boycott Fox and never appear on the network, if they want to be a Republican noise machine, then the Democrats should not play along at all.

If it was run by arab muslims when he was there, the school was a 'madrassah', even if it taught no religion, only secular subjects. Madrassah is just the arabic word for school.

The way the press use it suggests it has a specific meaning: training camp for infant prototerrorists. It does not have this meaning, and our failure to point this out just means we are descending further with the labelling hysterics.

Way to go, Barack! This is actually very good news and could serve as a template for other middle-of-the-road and progressive politicians. Fox is NOT a news channel, as has been proven time and again. It is a propaganda organ for extreme right-wing interests. Time to recognize that and take appropriate steps to exclude it from any serious engagement with the issues. Let them just continue to spew their hatred away from the mainstream.

FOX News should be ashamed of their bogus story about the Obama "madrassa story". They should apoligize ON AIR, not simply by private phone calls. The Daly Show is more of a legitmate news source than FOX News!

I am somewhat amazed and disconcerted that people still believe FNC is fair and balanced or that CNN or MSNBC are even close to being real news organiztions. They're all part of the newsshowbusiness trend that are NOT liberal nor fair in any sense of the word. So perhaps, like for many of us, news will have to come from other sources.

Big deal! How many times was Kerry on Fox? HIllary? Bill? Gore? Wow, only one got to be President so far. Lucky for them the softball questions only come from the networks with the "B"'s and the "C"'s in their names. They serve good kool-aid on those shows, though!

It might have been clarified already, but Obama is Christian, not Muslim. He lived in Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim and attended a public school at which most students were Muslin, but he is a practicing Christian. The only elected federal official that is a practicing Muslim is Keith Ellison D-MN.

The sad part in this is the story hasn't gone away. It's now making the rounds of the Internet email forwards, much like the religious "You're not Christian if you don't forward this on" emails we get so many of. And that's the danger in this: that information "reported" as fact is now being waved by the right wing nut jobs and passed around as fact to people who probably never heard Fox retract the story. I got one of those emails before I saw this story, so that's proof enough.

We are on the express train to hell because so few people exercise common sense and the ability to think for themselves.

Fox news isn't seen by "half" the country, as one poster posted. It has a tiny audience, about a million or two. Compared to all the other networks, they only have a tiny share of the American audience.
Who cares about Fox? Only rednecks and ignorant fools.

www.newshounds.us is an excellent website that has been chronicling Fox News' bias for a few years now.

I think if all Democrats shut out Fox News, it would send a strong signal and make it more difficult for reporters working there. I think the advertiser boycott would be effective if we can coordinate it. The vast majority of Fox News' ever-shrinking audience would never vote for a Democrat anyways.

It's good to see that someone (Obama) is standing up to the creeps at Faux 'News'. It's increasingly frustrating to hear the garbage that Fox tries to pass off as news, and to hear the trashtalk of their on-air personalities (Van Susterin vs. Cooper).

Good for him. Fox News will do nothing to support a minority DemocratIC candidate. They will glad twist and distort without regard to any effort at objectivity. I would like to see more public officials refuse to cooperate with Faux News.

Only a moron would call other people "braindead" moron liberals and spell psyche with a y on the end instead of an e. I know it was probably the liberal press that made you skip English classes. Also, "braindead" is two words. I guess that's why Obama scares you wingnuts so badly that you just flat make up things about him. You know he's a lot smarter.

Great! Keep them smearing with faux news. Who cares. Barak Obama has class and dignity and knows O'Reilly and all the other liars don't matter. He's a genius! only the boneheads watch it and they will never vote for him anyway.

All Democrats should freeze out the Fox News propaganda network. They are the favored "News Network" for the neocon hate-spewing radical right. Let Fox News live in their neocon Rebublican American fantasy world void of truth.

Fox isn't the only news org. taken over by fascist idiots. The AP routinely leaves out key facts to sway the meaning of their stories. The LA Times was recently taken over by more sycophantic ReThuglican jerks, and ABC has turned into joke with their blatant progaganda piece about Clinton and Osama..airing as a 'documentary'. There is very little truly liberal media.
I've always thought that FOX stood for "Fascists on Xstacy" ..

The smear was absolutely no accident. It's SOP for fox. Now, I'm not saying Hillary had anything to do with it, but Obama is more of a threat to her than to the GOP, which could probably be beaten by a ham sandwich at this point. Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, knows that perfectly well. So he supports Hillary Clinton. As well as McCain, for good measure. What? Yes, you heard me right.http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=11605

ALL of the MSM outlets are biased. ALL of the mass media are run by major corporations who put ratings and entertainment value over the truth. CBS and the New York Times slant as far to the left as Fox slants to the right. Who is attacking CBS and NYT for THEIR bias???

People can make up their own minds. We are not sheep, and we don't need government to police the airwaves and determine what is and what isn't fit for human consumption. The last thing we need is state-run media....

"John Moody, vice president for news at Fox, issued this missive to staff in his daily editorial note on Jan. 23: "For the record: seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC. The urgent queue is our way of communicating information that is air-worthy. Please adhere to this."

It seems strange that after years of trolling websites, and isolating particular statements,( as most of the pulpit brigade does), Fox sends out a "missive" aimed at having the news writers behave as journalists. Why not hire a REAL journalist at Faux news ?

to steve tarkington.......you are so naive by thinking the war will stop if we elect that bozo obama.this shows that you dont understand the enemy we are facing THEY ARE ISLAMOFASCISTS....ISLAMOFASCISTS

"Fox News journalist"? That's the biggest oxymoron of all. Why can't the rest of the media just come up and admit that Fox is a right-wing propaganda arm and makes not efforts to be either fair or balanced?
Turn this one over the Post ombudsman: I want to know why WashPo continues to pretend Fox is a real news organization.

KEN ...NAME THESE QUALITIES THAT BOZO OBAMA HAS TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT.I TELL YOU THE LIBERAL MEDIA BRAINWASHED YOU ALREADY.DONT LET THEM THINK FOR YOU BUILD YOUR OWN OPINION.THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF HAVING FREEDOM TO VOTE.

Having seen what passes for news on Fox networks (disgraceful, even by the standards of american network TV), all I can say is that no reporter or other staff person working for Fox has any right to complain if a public figure refuses to speak with them. I personally would refuse to shake their hands if introduced.

There are lots more worthy things to do with one's life than waste it working for the spiritual heirs of P. T. Barnum.

Karl Kameron (KKK) is so far right that he goes around calling average Americans Socialists. My method of preventing Fox Noise from contaminating my brain with propaganda and inacurrate "information" is to put a parental lock on the Fox Noise Channel. It has done wonders for my blood pressure, and keeps burn in off my plasma tv.

Oh boo hoo crybabies, Fox News is picking on Obama and reporting a lie. Welcome to a conservatives world. The MSM do the same thing day in and day out to Republicans and you guys buy it hook, line & sinker. How do you like it now? FOX RULES!

HEY MIKE.....CNN,ABC,CBS AND NBC ARE ALL DEMOCRATS PARTY PROPAGANDA.....WHY YOU ARE SCARED OF FOX?IS IT BECAUSE THEY ARE FAIR AND BALANCED OR BECAUSE THEY DONT BRAINWASH YOU FOR WHOM TO VOTE....BE A MAN ..LISTEN TO ALL AND BUILD YOUR OWN OPINION DONT LET MORONS THINK FOR YOU .

"Obamahater" above writes: "This guy is a joke if he thinks he can still contend in the '08 Presidential race without utilizing all networks. Especially Fox's, whose rating equal about CNN and MSNBC combined. The spotlight has gone straight to his head. "

You've obviously determined that you think he's a joke regardless--your name says it all.

What I want to know is, seriously, what could this guy have possibly done to deserve your hate? He is a young politician who by all accounts on either side of the aisle is classy, intelligent and personable.

If you hate the guy simply because you disagree with his politics, then that says more about you than him.

PS: you have cause to actually hate someone if they intentionally do things that are malicious to you or those you love. Ergo, I hate Bush and many in his administration...

"Obama is wrong. If he actually finds real journalists at Fox, he SHOULD talk to them." Posted by editorsteve

He's going to have a helluva time trying to find a journalist at FOX. They are all TV hosts, no journalists anywhere near that network.
Wouldn't it be amazing if others followed suit and FOX struggled to get interviews with prospective candidates? It would never happen, but it's a thought.

I am amazed at the venom being spewed on this board. Fox news does lean to the right but why is that so bad? All other news outlets are very liberal, i.e. NYTimes, Wash.Post, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS So, why can't we have news that covers both angles? Everyone posting here seems so afraid that someone will have an opinion that is different than theirs. It is healthy to look at all sides of an issue or a persons background and personality. Lighten up everyone. Quit the name calling. Listen to your neighbor. You might learn something.

Didn't Dan Rather get fired due to something similar to this? Fox is a big joke! They aren't going to give Obama, Hillary or any other Democract a fair or balanced report. The Muslim story was "playing the terrorism card". They played the race card about three weeks ago when although they were talking abot a sex offender they had the video in the back showing Obama supporters carrying Obama signs. Fox is a joke and we really should have some recourse other than to turn them off. Most of us have done that anyway. Fox is no more than the media department for the RNC. What idiots. When the current President needed a PR person, where did you get Tony Snow from???? I rest my case.

"One source familiar with the dynamic between Fox and Obama, who asked not to be named, said Obama and his staff are in for a rude awakening if they think they can write off Fox News. If a candidate is serious about running for president, he or she is going to need a network like Fox to reach out to all those voters in the red and purple states, the source said."

News Flash to Fox.

THE RUDE AWAKENING IS Those that watch FOX are so few and far between, that it will not make one bit of difference to anyone.

Get Real FOX! Seriously, your not making money.Face the facts.

Though, it's so typical of FOX to make a statement like the one above. Who are they kidding? Obviously, themselves.

FOX IS IN THE TANK. Has not been a source for legitimate news in sooo long.Have they forgotten that? Maybe they should check their ratings again. Wow, they are delusional to think that have any power over anything, except making the world see just how rediculous they really are.

They make up so called news , and do not expect to have repercussions? Yet they actually are threatening to an extent, future coverage of the presidential election on their waves? Now that is funny. Where do these people come from anyway? Oh never mind, I do not want to know.
F.O.X. must stand for,
Flaky
Offensive
Xenophobics

Guess what, morons? Even many of you who are trying to defend Obama have missed the very important point that he is not, in fact, a Muslim at all. Not that there is anything wrong with ordinary Muslims, per se. But Obama is a card carrying long time member of the United Church of Christ. Sheesh.

Seems to me some people who have posted here have been watching Faux News so long they really have their heads screwed up. If the MSM has a liberal bias, maybe it's because the TRUTH HAS A LIBERAL BIAS. On the other hand Fox has a HOGWASH BIAS. Their reporting on Obama is just the latest example of that.

Doocy squealing "This is HUGH!", like a little girl, did a whole lot for Fox's image.
If there was any doubt about Doocy's sexuality he cleared that doubt up with his little girl squeal.
Could he have sounded any more gay?

To Scout: The point of the story is that it was false. It doesn't matter whether he is Muslim, Jew, Christian or Mormon.

To averagecitizen: Other outlets are "very liberal"? and you include ABC? What about "Path to 9/11"? Was that a liberal point of view? It's not the fact that FOX is conservative. I would welcome a conservative, HONEST view. FOX is not honest by a longshot. Subliminally inserting "Osama" at the bottom of their screen instead of "Obama", not fact checking their madrassah story and then blaming the the leak on Clinton camp to try and kill two birds with one stone does not constitute news. It's a TV version of the National Inquirer.

Wow, there's nothing like nameless dips at Fox News overstating their relevance to the actual news cycle. I am sure these same nameless spokespeople would say Fox's decline in viewers isnt real. Oh, and its moronic to think, as the one Fox spokesperson implied, that Obama would need exposure on Fox to make up ground on being 20 points down... Considering those polls are for among those likely to vote in Democratic primaries. Now consider what number of those voters get their news from Fox. Yeah, zero sounds close to reality.

To the same idiot who keeps responding in all caps: We all think you're kind of stupid because you don't realize how to turn the caps lock button off of your computer. Your lack of coherant comments just add to this belief. Perhaps it's years of being unable to fix the blinking "12:00" on your DVD player that's making you crazy.

I am amused at those people who see a clear bias in the Fox News Channel and yet consider ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, and many other mainstream media outlets to be middle of the road or "fair and balanced."

I fully agree that there is a right-leaning bias in FNC (and Washington Times, and New York Post). But you're in denial if you can't admit an opposite bias in all those other outlets.

Please shut up with your "right slanted", inaccurate reporting crap. I have just one thing to ask, Do you remember Dan Rather's report about Bush's National Guard service? If you believe that wasn't propagand, left leaning and inept reporting then you are a blind, partisan fool.

The demographic of average Faux News viewers is in the 70 year old angry Caucasian. Not sure Obama needs a lot of them. It should come as no surprise that FNC is passing along smears that can be easily checked out, now that their party is in the minority in Congress.

I must respond to Lynn.....please get your facts straight. Barack Obama did not hide any info about his schooling...it has been proven that the school he attended was NOT a madrazzah, and he is NOT a Muslim. Your comments echo the exact manipulations that we see on Fox.

Bushco froze out everyone else but Fox when they first came in. Fox is just getting a bit of a come uppance.

Fox viewership is dropping rapidly and they should realize it's time to become a real news organization, not an artificially propped up wing of the conservatives. It's time to stop these targeted hits.

Fox staff CHOSE not to go to Indonesia to get the facts. Lets be clear. This was not an error of omission. This was a DELIBERATE DECISION to run a story without the BASIC CRITERIA of checking facts. At best .... it is incompentent journalism at every level. It was left to other organizations to invest the $$ to get a non story!!! Which is really the point. Obama can say from here forward that Fox has a history of incompetent journalism. It is cheap and easy to report a headline. It is costlier and harder to get real information that may not be worthy of a headline. Fox News chose the former style of journalism. America needs the latter. Dan Rather lost his job for not being able to spot a forgery. What senior person has lost their job at Fox simply by not requiring basic fact checking?

I'm an register Independent who hasn't watched FNC in years. Common sense told me not to waste my time watching crappy people feed others crap. It's amazing to read the many Dems who actually spend precious time listening to these liars and fake journalists.
Plain and simple...BOYCOTT the network, watch a cartoon instead.

I'm an register Independent who hasn't watched FNC in years. Common sense told me not to waste my time watching crappy people feed others crap. It's amazing to read the many Dems who actually spend precious time listening to these liars and fake journalists.
Plain and simple...BOYCOTT the network, watch a cartoon instead.

Hey people, what's wrong with being a Muslim? Remember? This is America! I am a Christian who was brought up being taught American values- to be respectful of all religions, creeds, and colors. Why does Obama have to bend over backwards to prove he is not a Muslim? I like him whether he is is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or whatever. Let's come down to earth, please.

He was registered as a muslim and his father and step father were muslims. I didnt say he went to a Madrassa, which is a religious school. At his school he did study Islam and the Koran. NO one is saying it was wrong to be doing that. He was in Indonesia! He just needs to be truthful about his roots and early life. Thats the point!

Gosh,Now I know what you looser liberals do for fun.You get together in the evenings and send out comments to the different political commentary apparatus in exsistance such as blog sites and anybody else that think what you have got to say is of any value.Dont like FNC because they are biased well tough.The rest of the nation has had to endure your liberal pile of organic fertilizer on every TV and Radio channel for the last 50 years.
Hey whatever happened to "Radio America"? Loosers.

what the papers said was ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE and that Bush WAS a derelict and GROUNDED, and EVERYONE on the base KNEW IT.

Following the broadcast, Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary at the time, confirmed the facts of the broadcast, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind that [the] information is correct." When the panel cross-examined Knox she seemed less certain of what she had told Rather but she did not contradict any of the broadcast. Since the broadcast, no one has come forward to say the program was untruthful."

So, although the PAPERS may have been copied, the information that

BUSH WAS AN AWOL COWARD and a GROUNDED DERELICT

are TRUE.

Bush, Cheney, PNAC and all the Fox "news" crowd will have some answering to do to

franktech: Dan Rather, a veteran and well-respected journalist, lost his job over the Bush National Guard story, as did his producer, Mary Mapes. Will Fox have the integrity to fire the on-air hosts who slandered Obama? If they were going to, they would have already.

And for the record, the Bush story was never shown to be untrue. One piece of evidence was discredited, but many other pieces of evidence were not.

to mr: IF that is true, then all it means is that a six-year-old kid was practicing the religion taught to him by has father. Big deal. What does it have to do with who he is as an adult?

The implication of the Insight story, repeated by Fox Noise, is that he somehow learned anti-American values. Otherwise, why would it even matter? But there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that might be even remotely true.

But don't take my word for it. This is what former Fox News employee, and current MSNBC journalist, David Shuster has to say:

"Editorially, I had issues with story selection," Shuster went on. "But the
bigger issue was that there wasn't a tradition or track record of honoring
journalistic integrity. I found some reporters at Fox would cut corners or
steal information from other sources or in some cases, just make things up.
Management would either look the other way or just wouldn't care to take a
closer look. I had serious issues with that."

What does it matter to Obama right now. Maybe if he wins the nomination, but that's a year and a half away. All he has to concentrate on now the democratic voters in the primary states.

As for Fox I think it is more damaging to their credibility, then it is to Obama. It's just one more thing that adds to the publics perception about them, like Rep. Folley being a democrat. If you want creditable news you don't get it from FOX. People are catching on that's why they are dropping in the ratings while CNN is improving.

what the papers said was ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE and that Bush WAS a derelict and GROUNDED, and EVERYONE on the base KNEW IT.

Following the broadcast, Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary at the time, confirmed the facts of the broadcast, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind that [the] information is correct." When the panel cross-examined Knox she seemed less certain of what she had told Rather but she did not contradict any of the broadcast. Since the broadcast, no one has come forward to say the program was untruthful."

So, although the PAPERS may have been copied, the information that

BUSH WAS AN AWOL COWARD and a GROUNDED DERELICT

are TRUE.

Bush, Cheney, PNAC and all the Fox "news" crowd will have some answering to do to

"Fox News": surely one of the greatest oxymorons going. Roger Ailes' private attack gang should be relegated to the group of purveyors of extremist propaganda-slingers that they truly are. How does anyone claim they are "responsible journalists" with a straight face? These are the same evil liars that ran the expurgated and thoroughly discredited elements of the hack piece: "9-11". One of Sciafe's boys coughs, and they all turn their heads...

what the papers said was ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE and that Bush WAS a derelict and GROUNDED, and EVERYONE on the base KNEW IT.

Following the broadcast, Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary at the time, confirmed the facts of the broadcast, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind that [the] information is correct." When the panel cross-examined Knox she seemed less certain of what she had told Rather but she did not contradict any of the broadcast. Since the broadcast, no one has come forward to say the program was untruthful."

So, although the PAPERS may have been copied, the information that

BUSH WAS AN AWOL COWARD and a GROUNDED DERELICT

are TRUE.

Bush, Cheney, PNAC and all the Fox "news" crowd will have some answering to do to

Hey people, what's wrong with being a Muslim? Remember? This is America! Posted by This Is America

I agree with you America. But the point of the story is that it is false and FOX News is preying on the fear and ignorance of the uninformed to smear Obama because they see him as a threat. And what better way to smear him than to equate him with radical Muslim terrorists?
There's nothing wrong with being Muslim. There is also nothing wrong with denying you are a Muslim if you are not a Muslim. Or denying you are gay if you are not gay. Or denying you are a martian if you are not a martian.

What exactly is a "looser liberal"? After you explain that, tell me why I should be offended by it. Something deep inside my liberal brain tells me you meant "loser". Would that be right? Heavens, it really is striking that if one really reads the responses on these blog posts, the poor grammar and spelling that is something supposed to pass for civil discourse. What is not so striking is how the spelling and grammar problems largely seem to fall in the responses of those defending poor, pitiful Fox News.

It's just an observation, but then again, maybe it says something about the intellectual prowess of those who take Fox News serious.

How may men in the House/Senate, past or present, exposed the fact that at age six or ten they went to a klan rally or revealed to everyone that their dad or mom taught them how to hate others because of their skin color? Or at the dinner table plotted and planned all kinds of evil, like hanging a man for no good reason. Americans has a shameful violent history. And this is the best Fox could dig up about Senator Obama, pleeeez!!!

what the papers said was ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE and that Bush WAS a derelict and GROUNDED, and EVERYONE on the base KNEW IT.

Following the broadcast, Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary at the time, confirmed the facts of the broadcast, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind that [the] information is correct." When the panel cross-examined Knox she seemed less certain of what she had told Rather but she did not contradict any of the broadcast. Since the broadcast, no one has come forward to say the program was untruthful."

So, although the PAPERS may have been copied, the information that

BUSH WAS AN AWOL COWARD and a GROUNDED DERELICT

are TRUE.

Bush, Cheney, PNAC and all the Fox "news" crowd will have some answering to do to

what the papers said was ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE and that Bush WAS a derelict and GROUNDED, and EVERYONE on the base KNEW IT.

Following the broadcast, Marian Carr Knox, who was Killian's secretary at the time, confirmed the facts of the broadcast, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind that [the] information is correct." When the panel cross-examined Knox she seemed less certain of what she had told Rather but she did not contradict any of the broadcast. Since the broadcast, no one has come forward to say the program was untruthful."

So, although the PAPERS may have been copied, the information that

BUSH WAS AN AWOL COWARD and a GROUNDED DERELICT

are TRUE.

Bush, Cheney, PNAC and all the Fox "news" crowd will have some answering to do to

Obama has too much baggage, Hillary has more baggage, and both have not traveled enough in their careers to qualify them for the highest office in this nation.

It would be embarrassing to have either as president. Lincoln and Washington would roll over in their graves. We need "great leaders" for the challenges we face in this nation, not a couple of government novices.

The quote below is either a parody of or an accurate portrayal of an FNS viewer. I can't believe it is anything else.

Its a shame that because it was a democrat that the story was about,he is portrade as a victim. If he wants to be president, he needs to be able to handle tough truths about his past. What is he trying to hide? And why doesn't he place the blame on himself for hiding information about his past, or place the blame on Hilary Clinton on leaking the information. And not Fox News who is fair and balanced.

I agree 100%! If I had anything to do with the democratic party, I would insist they never give any interviews or appear on Fox News! Let them prove to me we need them. They are so biased they are absolutely only preaching to the choir!

Fox "News" should be ignored because there is no accountability in their "reporting". If they refuse to name the source, it is not a news story. Cable news is not subject to the same laws as broadcast news because they use a system (cables) they own privately. In a libel/slander lawsuit filed against Fox, a federal judge ruled that they could present fiction as news without penalty because they do not use the public airwaves, and are not subject to FCC regulations. Even if the Fairness Doctrine were revived, it would not apply to cable news. The other thing that really makes me laugh are those commenting here about CNN, as if they were a left wing entity. Do you really think Glen Beck would be on HNN if that were true? Critical thinking is dead in this country. You 29 percenters are so funny!

Okay. So has anyone writing on here ever even watched CNN? You have GOT to be kidding me. Ripping on Fox for being biased? All news programs are biased, otherwise we wouldn't watch them. It's their spin on the news. Fox is definitly nowhere near as conservative as CNN is liberal. I grew up watching both channels due to the fact that half of my family is Democratic and half are Republican. I think that most of you need to take a second and look around. The majority of the media and hollywood are more liberal. So why don't you quit ripping on Fox's mistake, because I'm sure they now know that they are wrong. Barack Obama is a very intelligent and educated man, but it's a shame that your ignorance is making him look bad. Quit going for the low blows, guys. Get your facts straight and start worrying about something important instead of taking the easy way out and dissing everyone.

No one knows for sure what Barak Hussain Obama's past is. He seems very adept at hiding it or making up stories to suit his agenda at that moment. What we do know is that his father and stepfather were Muslims. Thus he was raised in a Muslim household. This does not preclude him from running for President. Last time I checked a US citizen has the freedom to practice any relegion.

The story isn't that Obama studied in Islam...it's that Hillary's campaign dug up the story and circulated it. Fox would have been wrong not to publish this political infighting. I hold the other networks guilty for hiding this information from the public.

And for a candidate to freeze out any journalist is just plain stupid. I have to wander about Obama and the people around him intelligence. When running for office you want to reach out to as many people as possible...including those in the red states. If you don't, your risk losing valuable votes.

Hurrah for Obama! Hillary and all the other Dems should be taking notes. This may have come about by a fluke but it is worthy of imitation. Very creative and it will send a harsh message to the mouthpiece of this wrong-headed government who feels it can use the public air waves to spew fear, bigotry and violence via Faux Snooze.
Make this stand stick Obama, others will follow.

Condi called the Fox people, "My guys." Bush and Cheney go there because they know they won't be asked meaningful questions. Rangel went on O'Reilly last night and wasn't allowed to finish a sentence.
Why does any Dem. go on that "fair and balanced news" network?

I'm the first to criticize unfair coverage and bad news judgment regardless of the media organization. I've noticed a plethora of instances in which FOX News (FNC) has been unfair. For instance, in its coverage of John Kerry's "botched joke," as he labeled it, an FNC reporter, Megyn Kelly, characterized Kerry's joke -- which had upset many military members serving in Iraq -- as "his comments on the troops." Nowhere in his remarks did he use the word "troops." In the case of Obama, with an allegation of that magnitude, a prudent journalist would have done further research before deciding to run with the story. In general, FNC seems to target stupid people and Conservatives.

The only thing worth turning FOX on is The Simpsons. Them make sure you wash the channel selector with bleach and water to kill anything that may have seeped out from that network. Obama's no fool, unlike FOX's viewers. His actions have elevated his stature in my eyes.

If you want to know whether Fox is a news organization or just entertainment, look into a lwauit filed by Fox in Florida several years ago when a female reporter refused to report information which was not true. She was fired and she sued Fox. She won but Fox appealed and it was overturned. Fox's position in the lawsuit was that they were in the entertainment business so they were entitled to report the information even if it wasn't true; just like the other tabloids.

You know, every time Obama smiles that big smile of his into the Fox News video camera and says, "I have nothing to say to Fox News," he'll get more votes. Americans admire a guy who won't back down before creeps and bullies and liars. Fox News is contemptible, and so are its teevee-addled audience.

Why would any liberal
or mainstream political type want to goon FOX News. It like a German Gew in 1940 wanting to visit with Hitler and his friends. Fox news is owned and run by right-wing bigots and haters - the main by-product of FOX News is HATE.

Fox is simply not worth watching.
It caters to the lowest common denominator.
As for Mary Auer's comment, the main stream media is exactly as liberal as the montrous corporations that own them. In other words, they are not liberal at all.
Fox is wingnut propaganda.

Please follow your own rules. There is profanity, personal attacks, and quite likely false signatures through out the comments. I expect lies from the trolls of the POTUS, but some of the "liberals" were just as bad. Boycott Faux "news".

appearing on fox is very much like feeding trolls in a forum. they might not go away if you ignore them, but in the end, the forum is better off. faux news is not nearly as important as people would have us think, unless your last name is LLC or Inc.

fascists love fox, but fascists arent going to vote for obama on their best day.

judging by the reaction from a mild freezeout by obama, i would say that that a mass freeze out from progressive/democratic candidates would seriously harm fox, especially with the impeachment proceedings about to begin...

Its a shame that because it was a democrat that the story was about,he is portrade as a victim. If he wants to be president, he needs to be able to handle tough truths about his past. What is he trying to hide? And why doesn't he place the blame on himself for hiding information about his past, or place the blame on Hilary Clinton on leaking the information. And not Fox News who is fair and balanced.

Posted by: Lynn | January 31, 2007 11:32 AM

This post should tell anyone who has two brain cells to rub together all they need to know about Fox Noise and its adherents. (Yes, Lynn, that is a real word, unlike "portrade"). The fact that both events of this "story", concerning the madrassah or the Clinton campaign's alleged "outing", are complete balderdash (another word for you to learn, Lynn)and have been proven so and admitted to even by your "fair and balanced" Fox Noise, Lynn. You must have been busy watching cartoons and missed that one.

you guys do not seem to get it.appealing is what i thought you do to all of your countrymen and hope you can win over 50% or more. once you start alienating a section (left/right) you have lost. looking from the outside in, yes we do get fox, cnn, etc.. can you not decide what is comedy and what is news. anybody who takes their news or information from one source is either not wanting to gain the correct information or believes the messenger as opposed to the actual message. your best two are barack and hillary it is a shame you guys do not see that. after all it is your decision. no matter what you tune into or read or listen to, can you not think and make the world see you as smart, worldly and concerned for the rest of the planet. do not give us a G.W. again. we still cannot understand you guys voted for him TWICE. why would the rest of us laugh when we know
the best two will not make it unless you people win over your own citizens BEST OF LUCK

Fox news is nothing more than a right wing propaganda wing of the corporate republican party.. its sickening that nobody seems to ever have the guts to take them on in public and call them what they are.. A COMPLETE JOKE!.. No democrats should EVER go on that disgusting joke of a network

Hey! I'm starting to like this guy. Looks like he has the guts to stand up to media nonsense. Sure, he can't freeze them out forever in a Presidential campaign, but it's still nice to see him provide some "consequences" for bad behavior. He's buying into my vote and I bet a lot of others with this approach.

There are NO good journalists at Fox News. A requisite for being hired there is that a person be willing to sell his/her soul to corporate masters. I do not understand why any non-Republican would ever submit to an interview with Fox. As a lifelong newsperson I can easily see that Fox does not deal in real news, but rather in hateful, fear-monging propaganda. These are among the most divise-thus-unpatriotic people in the nation. Period.

Would it not be appropriate for Mr. Gibson and Mr.Doocy to issue full retractions and apologies on the air? I believe all the other major news networks would do this. These anchors should be taken to task and given reprimands.

If i were barack i'd continue ignoring fox news. The sean hannity's at that network are a bunch of rightwing scum bags lacking in any kind of integrity of the soul or the heart. Ask yourselves, what does fox news really believe in...right.

I am a democratic voter and watch the news. Yes, Fox is biased to conservatives and republicans. And yes, its story on Obama was ridiculous. However, Obama and other Democrats should speak with them and go on their stations anyway. It's wrong to assume that ALL people who watch Fox are conservatives and republicans. Definitely a plurality, and maybe a majority, but definitely not all. Did it ever occur to you that some people, including some moderates and undecideds, may be watching Fox because it's the only non-cable network that has news on earlier in the evening. There are people who start work early in the morning who cannot afford to stay up late to watch the 11 PM news on other stations. Fox has their news on earlier, when no other non-cable stations have news. Some people may watch it for that reason. Remember, almost a third of the country does not have cable tv or want cable tv due to cost and/or choice. Fox is smart to offer their evening news an hour or two earlier than most of the other stations. If Obama and Democrats were smart, they would take advantage of that to reach those moderates and undecideds who watch Fox because of the earlier time slot rather than because of the ideology.

Thank you, Broadway Carl. However, the way I operate and stand-up for friends if someone were to denigrate them just because of their religion or race is as follows:
If somebody calls my friend a !@#% black person...Poof! I automatically am black too.
If somebody calls my friend a !@#% Jewish person...Poof! I automatically am Jewish too.
If somebody calls my friend a !@$% Muslim person...Poof! I automatically am Muslim too.
I would rather make common cause with the person whose religion or race is being put down than give the bigot the satisfaction that I am not that race or that religion.

"But of the 'alleged freezing out' of Fox journalists by Obama's office, she said, 'If true, perhaps Mr. [Robert] Gibbs should reconsider that ill-advised strategy given his candidate is trailing by 20 points in the polls.'"

As if polls this early in the race meant anything at all.

I can't stand FOX. Yes, they are more conservative than CNN - or anyone - is liberal. They have absolutely no respect for the truth, and their mistakes are so common as to barely merit mention anymore (unless they really mess up like they did this time). Say what you want about other news networks, but they at least try to be objective. FOX does no such thing, and it's very satisfying to see their bigoted attempt to tarnish a good man's name backfire.

The story isn't that Obama studied in Islam...it's that Hillary's campaign dug up the story and circulated it. Fox would have been wrong not to publish this political infighting. I hold the other networks guilty for hiding this information from the public.
Posted by Lyndsey

I'll have to respectfully disagree, Lyndsey. If this was the actual case, then the story should have been the Clinton camp's FALSE accusation of Obama's past after fact checking the story. As it is, they perpetuated the falsehood and tried to kill two birds with one stone by attributing it to the Clinton camp.

One only needs to look at the "Osama" text graphic with Obama in the frame and the "OOOH! Obama Smokes" story to see this is an invention of Faux News.

The story isn't that Obama studied in Islam...it's that Hillary's campaign dug up the story and circulated it. Fox would have been wrong not to publish this political infighting. I hold the other networks guilty for hiding this information from the public.
Posted by Lyndsey

I'll have to respectfully disagree, Lyndsey. If this was the actual case, then the story should have been the Clinton camp's FALSE accusation of Obama's past after fact checking the story. As it is, they perpetuated the falsehood and tried to kill two birds with one stone by attributing it to the Clinton camp.

One only needs to look at the "Osama" text graphic with Obama in the frame and the "OOOH! Obama Smokes" story to see this is an invention of Faux News.

"One source familiar with the dynamic between Fox and Obama, who asked not to be named, said Obama and his staff are in for a rude awakening if they think they can write off Fox News. If a candidate is serious about running for president, he or she is going to need a network like Fox to reach out to all those voters in the red and purple states, the source said."

Who's this source? Either stop giving your colleagues a vehicle to vent their personal opinions or name them.

Oh my God what a surprise people saying Fox is not a real news station and this and that, wow you all sound so "intellectual" and "righteous". Fox is the right wing media outlet and it's not fair. There should only be left wing media outlets, then that would be fair. Who needs both sides of the story. I bet you all really like Micheal Moore too, notice you never see him on political talk shows. You all just want to give the perception that you are righteous, fighting the evil propaganda and all that, makes me laugh how worked up you get about something you know nothing about. Really it's easy being a Bush/Fox hater, anything they say and do is bad, don't need to analyse it, it's that simple. Personally I think Fox is a great news source, although I also watch CNN and I think what SOME people at Fox did with Obama is absolutely retarded and they deserve all the flack they get.

It is evident to me that an all out effort is being made by opponents of Fox News - How many writers are calling Fox News - Faux News. Dan Rather and writers for the New York Times carried the anti-Bush false reporting to extremes which could not be covered by the liberal media on the three major networks. I hope you keep thinking that all red state voters are stupid. Al Gore and John Kerry made the same mistake.

Obama's not a Muslim. But his policies , if enacted, would greatly assist Muslim terrorists in their war against the USA. He wants to gut the Patriot Act. He opposes renditions. He opposes intercepting communications between foreign terrorists and their contacts in the USA. He'd like to free the terrorists held in Guantanamo. Incredibly, he has characterized the careful post 911 vetting of foreign student visa applicants from Islamic countries as "profiling" and said it violates the foreigners' "civil liberties."
The problem with the phony Madrassah story is that it makes Obama out to be a victim. Worse, it distracts attention from his naive and wrong headed ideas on the war on terror.
The Fox thing is understandable--Obama's so spoiled by fawning, uncritical coverage that he can't take a punch.

The MSM may lean slightly left on social issues, but even if true it has not necessarily inured to the benefit of the Democrats. One need not delve deeper than merely analyzing the media treatment of Bill Clinton and candidates Gore and Kerry to bear this out...despite right-wing mythology to the contrary.

The underlying formative premise for Fox News was that only one side i.e. left/liberal/Democrat was being offered to the public and conservatives were shut out. Really? Let's turn back to the Clinton administration, the birth of Fox News and review the evidence:

PBS, the GOP's favorite whipping boy, was airing the long-running Firing Line hosted by noted conservative William Buckley, John McGlaughflin had TWO political shows, followed by conservative economist and chronic Clinton basher, Louis Ruykeyser. Charles Krauthammer and Paul Gigot also had prominent recurring positions.

ABC's flagship political talk show, THIS WEEK, was produced by a Republican, moderated by a Republican, David Brinkley, and featured arch conservative regulars, George Will and Bill Kristol. Even moderate Democrat Cokie Roberts was a persistent Clinton critic and liberal Sam Donaldson had publicly stated in 1993 that he disliked Clinton.

Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press is a Democrat but even Rush Limbaugh has praised his "fairness and balance".

Fox News Sunday: Tony Snow, Brit Hume, Fred Barnes--enough said.

The "liberal" New York Times absolutely savaged Clinton on a near-daily basis. The editor, Howell Raines, harbored a deep-seated animosity toward Clinton. The Washington Post was also a frequent critic.

The Wall Street Journal enjoys a large circulation and is strongly conservative.

Quick notes: Jerry Falwell had his own TV show during which he would hawk the disgusting, slanderous "Clinton Chronicles". Pat Robertson diseminated daily right-wing blather on PTL. Conservative Paul Harvey had a huge radio audience. Reader's Digest, first or second in circulation, was a conservative publication.

And, of course, Talk Radio; Rush Limbaugh has become a mega-tycoon by spewing right-wing bile while amassing an audience greater than that of all the major networks combined. No wonder the Republican Congress made him an honorary member.

These are my recollections...could be an error or two, but I think essenially accurate. So Fox News fans, tell me again how you've been "shut out".

All democratic candidates should freeze out Fox. They should be every bit as fair and balanced as Fox news. They don't need them I don't care what anyone says. Watch Fox squirm when they can't ask their slanted questions of anyone who isn't already slanted.

Well, any politician or person wise enough to "freeze out" FNC --- responsible for the divisive partisanship that now infects our country will get my full and complete support. The Fox News Channel has committed and omitted egregious crimes against humanity, hiring narcissistic pundits spewing defamatory statements of intolerance, racism, and misogyny over the airwaves that maliciously politicize the issues and enflame the passions of the ignorant. All politicians who consider themselves moral, intelligent and compassionate peoples should shun FNC or be deemed irrelevant and unworthy. I beseech all to boycott FNC. They have no desire to evolve beyond superficial perceptions of ratings. So they will always build their egos up by tearing others down. They serve no useful purpose or our community for the common good.

What passes for discourse here makes me want to (a) throw up and (b) move far, far away. If you receive all of your information from only one source, no matter who/what that source is, I truly pity you ... and fear for the future of this country. I really do.

Let's not get carry away here... Mr. Obama reserves his right to be interviewed with whoever he wants. He's running for president for God's sake. If you want to watch real news, just don't watch Fox... that's all... They can talk all they want as long as they don't do it illegally. If Mr. Obama feels that Fox crossed the line, he can sue them... It's in his right.

Fox has high ratings because both sides of the political spectrum watch it. The Right watches it because it reconfirms their perception of the world (ie global warming is a hoax, war in iraq makes us safer). The left watches it to know the enemy (does Hanity represent the average red state voter?) The center watches it because it so outrageous and silly... I mean really people. Can anyone take that channel seriously? Its entertainment. Not news. Thus higher ratings. So if Obama chose to freeze out FOX, I don't think it would change his chances one bit.

Lets see the yellow backed democrats really only have two choices, Hitlary, or obama bin laden, I think the democrats should trade the donkey in for a snake, after all a snake has a forked tounge, it can be on both sides of the fence at once, and they can choose the one with the yellow stripe down its back.

The idea that Obama, or any other candidate needs Fox Noise to win an election is absurd. The neo-conservative cheerleading squad is viewed by perhaps 2-3 million people daily, many of whom tune in for the same reason we watch with horror a train wreck. There are 300 million Americans, so to lose that one-percent isn't going to be significant. Furthermore, I'm sure many of Fox Noise viewers watch CNN and MSNBC just so they can complain about the coverage.

It's fun to study the correlation between literacy and political opinions in these posts. And no surprise to see that people who confuse "its" with "it's" and write words like "portrade" tend to rally round GWB and his favorite "news" station.

"Try their best to be professional?" "Being professional" would have been to NOT report the story. Or, at the very least, have sent someone to Indonesia to try and figure if, in fact, the school was a madrassah when he was a child. They [being Fox] did nothing of the sort, and that is just irresponsible."

Being responsible, or at least not retarded, would have been figuring out that madreseh literally means school and is a term used for schools of all types, public and private throughout the muslim world.

so many scared (liberal) people afraid of any news outlet that shows them in a true (liberal) light... you must be the same people that "support the troops" but are against the war... IF you really support the troops you will support their mission (their own words as reported on NBC)... let's learn just one lesson from the disaster of Vietnam or face the terrorists on your own doorstep with a forced conversion to Islam... voting for a democrat is like asking for Sharia law to become the law of our nation... WAKE UP AMERICA, before it is too late!!

Let me tell you, no Democrat wants Sharia Law in this country. That's the fear mongering that can only come from an fat elephant.

If anything, invading a country under bad information and then not admitting it, that enboldens the Islamic terrorists even more. A whole generation of Iraqis and Muslims are being radicalized because George W. Bush invaded their county because "God Told Him To"....

That reason is no different then when an Islamic person blows himself/herself up for Allah or Slash their kids heads to draw blood on Ashurah because it's what God wants.

In regards to this news subject. Obama should interview with Fox, but only with minimum time. There are more people turning against Bush and the Fat Elephants than ever before.

Oh you mean that when Hillary 'did her own research' into the run up to the war means she also has her head up her a__.. Edward, the terrorists LOVED having a liberal for president... it really advanced their agenda... best watch some MEMRI tv before you spout more ignorance

!"Lots of paranoia here and very little substance. All MSM is liberal and in the Dems pocket. The ONLY place to get any fair slant of news is the FOX channel. God Bless America and God Bless FOX news!!

Lyndsey: No, the claim that Hilary Clinton's people were circulating the Obama story is also a lie.

To everyone insisting that other news outlets are "liberal": You are all on crack. There has not been a "liberal media" in this country in at least 25 years. It's an easy thing to say and I know most rightwingers believe it, but you will be very hard-pressed to produce any actual evidence of it.

there are some very unglued, uninformed people in this country... just bizarre.

the only person who spit on a US military member is some right-wing plant... but that's how uninformed and brainwashed your average right-wing idiot is - they think the left hates the troops. where do you get this crap? sharia law... memri tv... whoa, nelly. get a grip, hon.

oh... BACK TO THE TOPIC ... i applaud obama for shutting out Fox publicly, and hope it's the wave of things to come for dems and republicans alike. fox noise is poison for the mind. if you don't think so, read some of these comments!

Even a cursory knowledge of who runs and who watches Fox News, as well as its content, knows that this network is a propaganda arm of the GOP. Fox News fans watch it precisely because it presents reality through the lens of their prejudices. It makes them feel good, as it reinforces the idea that their way of thinking is correct. Liberals might watch CNN instead of Fox for the same reson. However, this does not mean it is necessarily a bad idea for a Democrat to appear on Fox. A strong Democrat who knows his stuff is quite capable of flustering the right-wing idealogues who pose as fair-minded journalists on Fox. I've watched Wesley Clark wear down Bill O'Reilly on many occasions, remaining calm and persuasive even as O'Reilly becomes more bellicose. Fox News watchers need to see how their favorite pundits fold under the gravitas and weight of well thought-out positions based on actual reality. Maybe Obama can't handle the fire, and if so, then he shouldn't appear on Fox News... or be considered presidential timber. I know Wes Clark can handle himself of on Fox... and the job of president.

If anybody who is claiming that most of the media is liberal can prove it, then please do. Other than Keith Olbermann, there are no liberal voices on broadcast. And newspapers? The Washington Post and New York Times, the two papers most likely to be called leaders of the "liberal media" have supported the war in Iraq from the start in their editorials. They never questioned the Bush administration's claims of the threat that Iraq supposedly posed until far too late to make any difference. Liberal media? Ha!

People who truly believe the media is liberal do so because Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh tell them it is, and they don't bother to check it out for themselves.

Barak Obama doesn't need FOX for anything. Whether he speaks to them or not, the people who decide what's going to disseminated to the public are going to see that media personalities, voluntarily and involuntarily continue to lie and mislead with their hateful and bigoted remarks.
For all who keep saying that bigotry in this country is exaggerated or made up, look at Fox and all of the major network "news" related programming, publications and entities, to varying degrees, to see that this country feeds off of it.
It's unfortunate that the ethical journalists usually don't get the front page and lead off exposure like the political operatives do.

Fox News was conceived as and continues to be the propaganda wing of the Republican Party and as such belongs with such famous media sources as Der Sturmer, Pravda, and whatever Tokyo Rose broadcast on for the Japanese Empire. There is not one honest man nor woman there from top to bottom.

I live in as-red-as-it-can-get Nevada, and I have done quite well by not watching Fox news for about five years now (even took it off my channel selection guide). We Democrats have many other sources to use, and the ultra-conservatives are usually beating their chests towards each other while we learn about what is really going on with real news sources. I actually pity the ultra-right because they think people outside of their cult are actually listening to them.

It amazes me that people are so vehement in blaming Fox for that stupid story, when several of the Liberal media outlets, ran it too.
There seems to be a bias toward liking the media that caters to peoples preconcieved opinions rather than seeking both sides of issues, to allow yourself to make an informed decision.

The story that Insight reported was that the Hillary Camp is mighty scared of Obama's candidacy and that they WERE PLANNING to spring this Muslim school information when the primaries got hot and heavy, hoping that it would have a negative effect on Obama's campaign. Here is an analogy that might make this clearer: Candidate A states that he believes the world is flat. Reporting that info is perfectly legit and the reporter is under no obligation to actually research whether the world is flat.

Obama is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. The notion that Fox News is a credible source of news is something only the most deeply stupid, lunatic people believe.

And the notion that Obama "needs" Fox News for his campaign is absolutely HILARIOUS!!! The ignorant audience that consumes the GOP propaganda machine that is Fox News do not vote for Democrats, especialy black men who they erroneously think is a Muslim, and who has a name like "Obama" and a middle name "Hussein." JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN, no matter how many times Fox interviews him.

Forget the general election. Obama is now fighting in the Democratic primaries. If you guys think that he needs FNC to reach democratic PRIMARY voters; you guys are all nuts. Even if there are enough independent and republican voters to be attraced during the election cycle that can be reached during the generaql election cycle, does not take away from the fact that Obama does not need the FNC for the democratic primaries.

The liberal media hasn't existed since Reagon. Millions of dollars were put into conservative news organzations in the 1980's. Compare the coverage of Clinton to the coverage of Bush. Only now that he has screwed everything up hae the "liberal press" spoken up. Imagine if Clinton had done the theings that Bush has done. Any republican who condones his action is total hypocrite. As far as Fox News, anyone who serously believes it is Fair and Balanced is an Idiot.

With all due respect, shouldn't one always always bracket the word "journalist" with quotation marks when referring to an employee of Faux Noise? Otherwise, one might be accused of lending credence to the myth that there are actual journalists employed at that network.

The election of our next president is a matter of grave concern for your family and loved ones. If watching and defending fox is how you show your love, I pity your family. The other major networks have also been failing miserably in filling time with drivel when there are so many important issues of which we need to be kept aware. I move that we viewers put pressure on all of the networks to report stories of substance and to report with accuracy. In the lead up to the war, the major networks were as untruthful as fox. I heard the truth on the BBC, Bill Moyers NOW, and Democracy Now. If Senators Clinton and Edwards had listened to those shows, then verified for themselves the information, they wouldn't be making that stupid "if I knew then what I know now remark". It's their responsibility to know the truth when it's so readily available to any caring American who loves this country and needs good information to make the best decisions. We have to resume our responsibilities as being the adults in this process. We don't have two competing teams, as in the Superbowl. We have one country and it's our responsibility to take care of it and keep it the wonderful country for which my husband, nephew, brother-in-law, father, grandfather, both uncles, great-uncles (five brothers all naval officers), and my great-great-great grandfather fought.

Adults don't put juvenile name calling ahead of the well-being of the United States of America. Those people you hear making nasty jokes constantly, those commentators you hear telling you what the American people think and what's important and what's not, they are the worst kind of scum in our country today. They are putting making as much money as they can by promoting hatred above nurturing this country I love. I'd sure welcome company in holding the media to being truthful and relevant. I would have loved to have seen a full hour on the opening of the Fisher House in Texas this week. I'd love to see the amazing scientific developments that are now available to help our soldiers heal. I'd love to have had an opportunity to hear some of their stories and I'd like to have heard stories of those generous people who donated the funds to bulid the facility. I'd also like to have had several of our congress people explain to me how we can keep sending billions of dollars to Iraq for phony construction projects when our troops have never had the resources they need and there's a dearth of facilities to help them once they get home.

And for those of you who repeat the false spitting report and tie it to the spitting on Viet Nam vets, please give me one bit of proof that that ever happened. I was very much aware of what happened during the Viet Nam era since my husband, brother-in-law, and dear friends (two of whom lost their lives)were all involved in various aspects of the war and being spat on by Americans was something I never heard anyone claim. We did see, however, that our government didn't provide adequate rehabilitation for the returning soldiers. The damage from that war is still evident on the streets and homeless shelters all over the country. We have to become a more responsible people. We are greatly blessed and with the blessing comes great responsibility. Part of it is taking care of those who gave their lives, even if they still live, to allow us to have the opportunities we have.

Let's use internet resources and local public television and letter writing to stations and politicians and demand correct information so we can use it to formulate our opinions and be the citizens our country and those who fought for it deserve. Thanks for sticking with me on this long post - it's a topic close to my heart.

You guys crack me up with all the slamming on Fox that you're doing. Keep those eyes closed boys.

Haven't any of you read the recent study done by UCLA (liberal Ca. college) that concluded that Fox was the LEAST biased of all the news networks? You also seem to have forgotten about that little incident with Dan Rather right before the last presidential election.

It amazes me how you libs can close your ears to anything you don't want to hear, while blindly believing anything the liberal press pukes out in your direction.

Way too many people have said that Obama has been dishonest about his past. Actually almost everything that's come out has been covered in Dreams of My Father. His father was a Muslim and his mother was and atheist, but we knew that. We knew that a long time ago because Obama told us!!!

Pathetic the number of posters here who make such stereotypical condemnations of millions of people they never once met who watch Fox News. Criticize bad journalism, but just ask Senators Webb, Tester and McCaskill if they would have been elected had they refused to be interviewed by FNC.

Dan Rather was given faulty information. He and other reporters rely on sources to get their stories that's why they are supposed to try and cite sources that will go on the record, in case their sources are feeding them crap. In this case, Fox news ran a story based on an anonymous source. Not smart. Down the toilet hole with FOX.

I don't think I have ever read as much hate as I have in the responses to this article. People in the red states have been called pretty much every derogatory name imaginable. People who watch Fox News have been called the same. I have read a lot of stupidity and bigotry from both sides of the fence. (I do recall that CNN had to make a few retractions in the not so distant past.) I would like to know more about Mr. Obama. I have read his political views. I have read about his current religious beliefs. I would like to know if his step-father was Muslim and if Mr Obama was taught the Islamic faith? I do not think this makes me a bigot. I think it makes me one who wishes to be more informed about a possible presidential candidate. I feel that by freezing out the Fox reporters, the candidate appears arrogant and I do not think that will benefit him. Every US president has faced reporters who were both favorable and not favorable. By refusing to respond to reporters whom he disagrees with, it makes me wonder how he as president would fairly represent a country made up of many people who did not support him.

I think this whole thing is a laugh. First, fox news has had to make a retraction...for all you liberals now you know how the conservatives felt during the false documents that were 'mistakenly' released about Bush a few years back. If anything, we are all even now, get over it!

Secondly, did any one notice that he did make many references to Lincoln. I think it is funny how no one knows history. Yes, I like Abe, however, if you look back, he comitted an illegal war (the states did have the constitutional right to leave the union which actually makes it a war of aggression, not a civil war), he was anti-press (he didn't allow anyone of the press to know what was really going on during the war), and although he didn't support slavery, he was by far no equal opportunity enforcer. He didn't even want to let the slave go free, he did it to motivate the troops and people to keep fighting.

So, Obama has already had some bad stories out on him (like everyone else) and he wants to be like a president who did the same things Bush is accused of doing now. In my opinion, if you are voting for Obama because you don't like Bush and want change, you are either uneducated or your a hypocrite. It will be a different agenda, but the same old way of getting it, deceit and misrepresentation

Obama has never hidden his past..The guy told us in his books about his past and we've always known of his muslim connection....And even if he was a muslim,so what?Can't you see the intelligence in him????Anyone who read the Quran at a young age gets that intelligent!!!!!!! The first verse that was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) was 'Iqra' meaning 'read'

Why elect Barack? Because stupid, American liberals never learn! This completely unknown and inexperienced liberal muslim (possibly radical) only "seems clean" because of his limited exposure. With his muslim background, his full name may just be "BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA-BIN LADEN"! ! ! Is this who you stupid liberals want as president? . . . The last unknown elected was Carter, and all he did was leave America in a recession, with double digit inflation, made us the laughing stock of the world, and worse, "AMERICANS HELD HOSTAGE IN IRAN! ! ! " . . . CAN WE AFFORD A REPEAT WITH OBAMA-BIN LADEN???

As a frenchman,I watch with pleasure the awakening of american population after decades of neoconservative manipulation and propaganda. A new generation of multidimensional leaders is arisen, like Obama as an hope not only for the USA but for the world affairs

Barack Obama is not a Muslim. He is a Christian. He never hid his education in Indonesia; it's there in his book _Dreams of My Father_ for all to see. In fact, from my reading, it appears that Obama had very little religious influence of any stripe as a child. So Fox out and out lied.

But am I the only one who finds it frightening that it should matter? Perhaps I'm a bit gullible, but I've always believed freedom of religion to be one of the basic tenets upon which this country was founded. Are we now to believe that discriminating against a candidate based on his religion is a GOOD thing??? Muslim does not equal terrorist.

Mr. Obama is not a Muslim, his father was, but he is a practicing Christian. I hope my fellow Christians out there aren't so naive to fall for silly political tricks. I hope the candidate best for our future as a united people and country is the winner. Regardless of the D or R or even an I or G next to their name.

All news outlets make mistakes. Remember when it was being reported by most if not all media that 16 of the 19 9/11 hijackers came into America via Canada. This was never verified but was reported as being fact.

I am a White Conservative American and a Southern Baptist living in Baltimore. I am shocked that Mr. Obama is the best the African American community has to offer when it comes to a candidate for the highest political office in the land. Mr. Obama has two view's for every issue, this will hurt him. There are so many better qualified African Americans that are not two faced. I wish I could see people such as Prof. and Author Ella L.J. Edmonson Bell, Orlando city commissioner Daisy Lynum, David Dalton - President & CEO - Health Resource Inc. , Gwendolyn Smith Iloani - President & CEO - Smith Wiley & Company, Earl G. Graves, Sr. - Publisher & CEO - Black Enterprise Magazine, Ernest Green - Managing Director - Lehman Brothers, James Winters - President - United Energy run for President. Many Conservatives I know both White Americans and African Americans will not vote for Obama. They are not going to vote for any of the candidates currently running (this includes Republican's and Democrat's). The majority will stay home and hope for a better choice in the future. With a strong candidate we could have our first African American President but it is not going to be Mr Obama.
In case your wondering who I think will win in 2008?
Mrs Clinton will win due to voter apathy.

I am a White Conservative American and a Southern Baptist living in Baltimore. I am shocked that Mr. Obama is the best the African American community has to offer when it comes to a candidate for the highest political office in the land. Mr. Obama has two view's for every issue, this will hurt him. There are so many better qualified African Americans that are not two faced. I wish I could see people such as Prof. and Author Ella L.J. Edmonson Bell, Orlando city commissioner Daisy Lynum, David Dalton - President & CEO - Health Resource Inc. , Gwendolyn Smith Iloani - President & CEO - Smith Wiley & Company, Earl G. Graves, Sr. - Publisher & CEO - Black Enterprise Magazine, Ernest Green - Managing Director - Lehman Brothers, James Winters - President - United Energy run for President. Many Conservatives I know both White Americans and African Americans will not vote for Obama. They are not going to vote for any of the candidates currently running (this includes Republican's and Democrat's). The majority will stay home and hope for a better choice in the future. With a strong candidate we could have our first African American President but it is not going to be Mr Obama.
In case your wondering who I think will win in 2008?
Mrs Clinton will win due to voter apathy.